Lockout Blu-ray Review

A tasty sci-fi smoothie.

Lockout is what happens when you toss plot elements from Escape from New York, Die Hard, Con Air, The Rock, Air Force One, and From Dusk Till Dawn into a blender. There's not a single moment in the film that is original or refreshing in the slightest. In other words, Lockout is the cinematic equivalent of a smoothie.

It's as though the writers of the film were openly trying to make a movie as derivative as humanly possible. The blatant cinema stealing is obvious in virtually every single scene of the film. At times, it's genuinely frustrating. However, the film is filled with terrifically amusing performances and just enough action and adventure to keep things interesting.

The plot of Lockout is simple, Snake Pliss--err, Snow (Guy Pearce) must break into a maximum security prison in space in order to save the President's daughter, Emilie (Maggie Grace). His ulterior mission, however, is to meet up with an inmate who knows the whereabouts of the secret briefcase that Snow is trying to get back. Naturally, things don't go as planned, and action, mayhem and graphic violence ensue.

Despite its blatantly derivative nature, Lockout is surprisingly fun. Produced by the team who made the hit film Taken (including Luc Besson, a filmmaker who gave up originality more than a decade ago), the same level of energy and excitement from that film is ported over here, glossing over the film's many, many errors. Direction, from Stephen St. Leger and James Mather (who also co-scripted with Besson), is surprisingly classy, loaded with grit and humor. Pacing is incredibly tight, and the film knows how to get the most out of its visuals.

Guy Pearce is surprisingly colorful and fun, a break from his usually morose characters. His tough guy swagger is matched by his razor-sharp wit and “screw you” demeanor. Maggie Grace, who's been carving out at a great career in genre pictures lately, also does a pretty good job, holding her own against Pearce. Peter Stormare, as usual, is also a delight as the special agent in charge of Snow's mission. Another highlight is Joseph Gilgun, the loose cannon of the story and the film's secondary villain.

While Lockout basically plays like a big-budget variation of a Roger Corman B-movie of the '70s or '80s, it is an immensely enjoyable picture which should provide a delightful Saturday afternoon viewing experience. Don't expect originality or high class art, but do expect some charm, some action, and some good ol' B-movie fun.

Lockout comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film is presented in 2.40:1 in 1080p/AVC, mixed in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Lockout features a rather gritty, nuanced presentation. It's rich with texture and detail without a hint of noise or intrusive artifacting. Blacks are spot-on, and colors are naturalistic, with little saturation. The only minor hiccup is just a hint of motion blur seen in darker sequences. For what it is, though, Lockout looks quite impressive.

Audio is aggressive and engaging with plenty of sci-fi whiz-bang action, intense bass and aggressive surround cues. Dialogue is crackle free, distortion free and without error. Surrounds are well-designed, layered with atmosphere and immersive sound effects. In other words, this track is a lively experience.

Special features, sadly, are lacking. There's two mostly dull featurettes, a series of trailers and an Ultraviolet Cloud Streaming Digital Copy. The film is also presented in its original unrated form. The film's heavy edited U.S. PG-13 theatrical cut is not included on the disc. It's no loss.

Lockout is nothing more than a glossy big-budget remake of John Carpenter's Escape from New York, mixed with several other genre films. However, if you enjoy derivative B-movie entertainment, the film does provide plenty of fun sci-fi action and adventure. Guy Pearce is a hoot, too.